bloom. h.s ✔️

two.

The beep and following sound of the mechanical arms opening barely distracted me from the hunt for my earphones as I headed out into the lobby. The sound of heels clicking on the fancy tiled floor did, however, make me look up considering they weren't coming from my own boots.

"Giovanni?"

My steps faltered as the tall Italian man came to a stop in front of me, a bright yet refined smile on his lips and I glanced around, it was almost half-past nine, what was he doing here?

"Good evening amore." Giovanni pressed his lips to my cheek and I blinked, the pet name rolling off his tongue in Italian easily but it just made my stomach churn, it always had.

But at least he'd stopped calling me mio fiore.

That had almost sent me spiralling the moment it had left his lips just after Christmas the first year I was here in New York.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I gave up the hunt for my air pods, I knew they had to be in there somewhere. I'd had them this morning.

"Came to pick you up." Giovanni said easily, "I feel like we've barely seen each other. You've been so busy since last Saturday."

"Yeah I've been at work a lot."

The word sorry barely left my mouth these days. I'd worked hard on not apologising for merely existing, of course I used it when I had to and I definitely meant it when I did use it. It was something I had Harry to thank for.

I blinked as the thought of the green eyed brunette I'd spent almost two years trying to forget suddenly popped up in my brain and I grabbed Giovanni's hand making him look at me curiously and I lent up to press our lips together.

It wasn't a habit I was proud of. But it had been working.

"We better get home then hadn't we amore."

I simply hummed as Giovanni guided me out of the tall building and to his waiting car on the curb and I smiled at his driver. My eyes preferred the view out the window compared to the man next to me and I sighed.

It had been a coping mechanism. It still was, and I was coping.

Or at least I had been coping up until last week. I knew I shouldn't have just rung Eleanor like that, I should have texted her my congratulations and then arranged a time to FaceTime. Now it was like all my hard work had been undone.

All because of those five seconds where Harry and I were looking at each other.

It was stupid and I knew it, but it had hurt enough to make me cry myself to sleep after Lindsee and I were finished with Harry Potter and sushi, it was enough to make me think about him for the following days.

It was enough to make me look at Giovanni with nothing but friendly complacency in my eyes.

The two of us sat in silence as I watched the city disappear and the car plunge into darkness as his driver, Calvin, parked underneath Giovanni's building and opened my door for me.

"Thank you." I said quietly, politely as Giovanni gave him a handful of cash and thanked him for his service during the day before he guided me towards the lift and the two of us rode up to his apartment in silence.

"Are you working tomorrow?" Giovanni asked as he unlocked the front door and I nodded.

"Posies until one, class at one thirty and then I'll be at the office." I said as I left my bags just by the door and pulled my shoes off, immediately missing the extra height my boots gave me.

"I see. Drink?"

"Just water please." I smiled as Giovanni nodded and I wandered further into his apartment, I guess one of the perks of knowing him was getting to be in his Upper East Side apartment.